A federal decide has dismissed a lawsuit introduced by a girl in opposition to Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander, the brothers who’re dealing with a number of accusations of sexual assault in civil and felony courtroom.
In a ruling filed on Wednesday, Choose Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court docket in Manhattan discovered that the statute of limitations had expired for the declare introduced by Angelica Parker.
Ms. Parker, 38, who was beforehand often called Angelica Cecora, stated she was sexually assaulted at an condominium in Manhattan by each Tal and Alon Alexander within the fall of 2012, and throughout the act, Oren Alexander watched, in line with her lawsuit that she filed in June 2024.
The statute of limitations for submitting a declare of sexual assault and gender-based violence in New York is generally seven years, which means Ms. Parker would have wanted to file her declare by 2019, however two separate extensions, with totally different dates, have been created in recent times for victims to file older claims. Ms. Parker filed her declare throughout a window created by New York Metropolis, however the decide discovered {that a} state extension outmoded it, requiring Ms. Parker to file her lawsuit by the top of 2023. He tossed the go well with in consequence.
The ruling is a small victory for the Alexander brothers, who’re at the moment in federal custody in Brooklyn and have been denied bond in federal courtroom. A lawyer for Ms. Parker and one other lawyer for different girls who’ve filed civil circumstances in opposition to the brothers expressed disappointment however stated they might press on.
For many years, Oren Alexander, 37, and Tal Alexander, 38, have been two of the nation’s most distinguished actual property brokers, brokering a number of the flashiest properties in Miami and New York. Alon Alexander, who’s Oren’s twin and didn’t work in actual property, was a daily fixture on the social circuit in each cities alongside his brothers.
Their reign as actual property princes led to June when The Actual Deal, an actual property commerce publication, first reported that ladies had filed lawsuits in opposition to the brothers. A flurry of extra accusations adopted, with extra girls — together with Ms. Parker — submitting lawsuits in opposition to the brothers. In December, all three brothers have been arrested in Miami Seashore on federal sex-trafficking costs.
Along with the federal costs, the twins additionally face state costs related to a few separate assaults. They’ve each pleaded not responsible to these state costs.
The a number of lawsuits and felony circumstances have shaken the luxurious actual property world. Tal and Oren Alexander had been stars at Douglas Elliman, one of many largest brokerages within the nation, earlier than leaving to co-found their very own brokerage.
The brothers have denied any wrongdoing.
Legal professionals for the brothers have referred to Ms. Parker, who misplaced a lawsuit that she filed in opposition to Oscar De La Hoya for battery, assault and false imprisonment in 2012, as a “skilled plaintiff” and accused her — in addition to different girls who’ve come ahead with allegations of assault — of a money seize.
On Thursday, Deanna Paul, a lawyer for Tal Alexander, known as Ms. Parker’s credibility into query.
“There’s been a domino impact of so-called accusers who, after studying a couple of flurry of lawsuits looking for sums of cash, have emerged with never-before-heard claims,” she stated in an emailed assertion. “This frivolous lawsuit highlights the opportunism we’ve seen at play and places an finish to it.”
Michael Willemin, a lawyer for Ms. Parker, known as the choice “disheartening” and warned that it might affect different girls who’ve additionally filed claims of sexual assault. His agency intends to attraction the choice, he stated, and he harassed that it might not have an effect on the parallel felony costs in opposition to the brothers, who stand to be arraigned subsequent week.
”We anticipate that it’ll finally be reversed,” he stated of Choose Kaplan’s ruling. “The one purpose the case isn’t shifting ahead is the misguided dedication that she introduced the claims too late. Fortunately, the prosecutors gained’t have that drawback and we look ahead to the brothers being held accountable.”
Evan Torgan, a lawyer who’s representing different girls who’ve filed civil circumstances in opposition to the brothers, identified that federal investigators have spoken to greater than 40 girls who say they have been assaulted by the brothers.
“This dismissal isn’t going to be the dying knell of both the civil circumstances or the felony circumstances,” he stated.
